Travel Day 1 (home that is)

Travel Day 1 (home that is)

Day 30 – Sunday, February 28, 2010

We were up at breakfast and on the road by 9am, expecting a 6 hour drive. As usual in Kenya though, that really means 9 hours, which was about right on. One of the reasons for this is the road, though paved, is only two lanes, so you had to pass the massive trucks into oncoming traffic. Trucks also passed trucks, so many times you have to nearly stop because there’s a truck heading straight for you trying the pass the guy in front of him. The drivers here are nuts! At the beginning of the trip I thought it was controlled chaos, but boy was I wrong! I now think it’s just bedlam and by the grace of God (all our angels must be working overtime) that people don’t get in more accidents than they do.

The drive was very pleasant as Karen and I shared the 3 seats in the back, so there was room to stretch, and the conversation was pretty awesome as well! We even saw a giraffe on the side of the road! For dinner (lunch was the typical banana stop), we went to a Brazilian steakhouse near the airport. I’ve been to a few of these, where they serve you 10 different kinds of meat off the spit until you burst, and this was one of the best. I tried camel meat (very fatty but the one bite of meat sans fat tasted like turkey), goat (very tough but have sampled this many times during our trip), chicken, beef, turkey, alligator (very fishy, not like the deep fried stuff served in the South), and I passed on the sausages. It was a great meal with a wonderful red wine (Thanks Greg-b!). We then headed to the airport and unloaded our many bags. I was under the impression that I was on the same flight as the PEI crew, but when we started walking separate directions, I quickly realized I was wrong. Sadly, I got a ‘just-in-case’ ½ hug from Karen, Greg, and Uncle Ted as once we were in the terminal we should be able to say a real goodbye. Unfortunately, after a number of circumstances I didn’t get to say goodbye. I have to say this jolted me as I was not prepared for goodbye. I thought there was 12 hours of hanging out time ahead! I boarded my flight and thus ends day 30. We’re really close to the end here, but someone I suspect there will still be things to write.

Some memories it will be hard to forget…(and don’t want to so maybe it’s nicer to say, some memories I would like to keep)….Riding a camel down the beach while playing hookey from clinics, then stiffing the poor camel driver because of miscommunication (both Karen’s doing). Sweet Joyce and Lina, a sad memory that became sweet once Lawrence enlightened me. Feeding starving children in secret. Going bathing suit shopping with Karen. (That didn’t make the blog, but let me just leave it at it was hilarious to see this little muslim girl covered from head to toe trying to fit us for bikinis.) Teaching the teens how to play blackjack and poker then seeing their mom’s reactions. Greg’s picture of Karen on the pirate ship where she thought she looked like a warewolf so she deleted it from the camera without knowing I had already downloaded it to my computer (I giggled for two days!) Dancing on the boat. My first soda in Africa – oh it was sweet and such a luxury about a week into the trip. Seeing the watering hole like in the lion king and all the animals milling around it. Being underwater with fish everywhere completely at peace with me invading their space. Seeing a million stars and mars in Meru and Mikinduri. Savoring the few moments of internet available. Getting an email from home or finding someone online. The tusker room and all the folks chatting in the evening. Seeing so many people’s face light up after fitting them for a pair of glasses. Handing out dolls to the kids. Holding sweet round babies that smelled not of Johnson’s like in the states but a different smell. All that fantastic South African wine courtesy of Greb B, Nancy, and Karen. The evening nightcaps where everyone decompressed, laughed, and shared. Hours and hours and hours in the combie on bumpy roads. Seeing the kids in school so happy singing and sharing their customs and joy with us. Dancing with them….not an enjoyable memory, but it was funny. The nuns. All the people on the trip that made it enjoyable. Every morning I would come down to breakfast in Mikinduri and get a great big warm ‘morning libby’ from everyone individually. That surprised me. The people on this trip are not fake. Everyone is legitimately caring and nice, and just wants to do good things for the world. Sure a few people got on my nerves a bit, but I have never been around a group of people who cared so much and were genuinely friendly and interested in how you are. This has been a fantastic trip and I just hope I can come back next year. Also, I want to bring everyone I know that too is genuine and friendly so they can experience all the amazing things I have. The best part of all of this, is that I got to share these experiences with my mom and uncle. Fantastic!

Summary: A fun day in the combie looking forward to heading home.

Books read: 12 (lovely bones …boring! Mr monk and the blue flu … silly and fun)

Hours in a combie: 50 (That’s over 2 full days of the 3 weeks in Kenya!)